Wavy transistors for next-generation display devices

A research team from Saudi Arabia has created a new brand of thin-film transistors that are wavy and bendable, for use in manufacturing ultra-high resolution display devices1.

Muhammad Mustafa Hussain, the research team leader at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, say the transistors should revolutionize display technologies that are used in both the entertainment industry and medical diagnostic devices. They should also pave the way for a smooth transition from rigid to flexible displays, he adds.

Hussain and his colleagues prepared the transistors by fusing zinc oxide semiconductor with a polymer-coated silicon substrate. In their study, to be published in the next issue of Small, they explain how it’s possible to enhance the performance of such transistors through increasing their width.

Red light light-emitting diodes made using the wavy transistors emitted brighter light than the diodes made from coplanar transistors, according to the scientists. As well, the wavy ones consumed less power than their coplanar counterparts.

The transistors retained their efficiency without developing any cracks in their architecture even after being bent to a radius of 5mm. The researchers are now experimenting with making flexible computation devices using these wavy transistors.